SALT LAKE CITY — Guard Damian Lillard scored 23 points and forward LaMarcus Aldridge added 19 to lift the Portland Trail Blazers to a 92-89 comeback victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.
Forward Dorrell Wright chipped in 15 points off the bench to help Portland (45-25) win for the sixth time in its past seven contests against Utah.
Forward Derrick Favors scored 26 points and collected 13 rebounds while guard Trey Burke chipped in 22 points to lead the Jazz. Center Rudy Gobert added 12 points and 10 rebounds for Utah (31-40) which lost its third straight game.
The Trail Blazers out dueled the Jazz in fast-break points, finishing with a 21-6 edge.
Portland’s offense got suffocated by the Jazz defense as the third quarter progressed. Utah forced the Blazers to commit five turnovers over the final 3 1/2 minutes of the quarter and closed it out on a 15-2 run.
The Blazers took the lead after trailing much of the first half when Lillard hit a 3-pointer to make it 2-39. Portland still led 53-50 when the Jazz took control defensively.
Utah went ahead when guard Joe Ingles hit a go-ahead jumper and then stole the ball and turned it into a layup. Burke’s putback layup punctuated the 15-2 run, giving the Jazz a 65-55 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Portland made up ground again and finally retook the lead late in the fourth quarter. Lillard converted a 3-point play to put the Blazers in front by one. Then, after a jumper from Burke, Lillard hit two free throws to make it 89-88 for Portland with 1:00 left.
Aldridge made a layup and hit a free throw in the final seconds to seal the win. Favors had a 3-pointer that would have forced overtime bank off the glass and rim out at the buzzer.
Utah took advantage of cold shooting from Portland in the first quarter to grab an early lead. The Trail Blazers shot just 5-of-20 (25 percent) from the field. Portland endured a 6 1/2-minute stretch without scoring a point — missing 10 straight shots during that stretch.
The Jazz used a 17-2 run during that stretch to go in front by double digits. Favors fueled the bulk of the run. He scored back-to-back baskets to give Utah its first lead at 8-7 and then scored on back-to-back possessions again late in the quarter to help the Jazz take a 19-9 lead.
The Trail Blazers did not end their first quarter scoring drought until forward Dorrell Wright drained a 3-pointer with 24.9 seconds left to cut Utah’s lead to 19-12.
Portland rallied early in the second quarter. The Trail Blazers scored on four consecutive possessions — culminating in a jumper from guard C.J. McCollum — to tie the game at 27-27. Utah prevented Portland from finally going back on top. Favors dunked the ball and guard Elijah Millsap drained a 3-pointer less than a minute later to push the Jazz lead to 32-27.
The Trail Blazers cut the deficit to one three times — the final time on a dunk from guard Allen Crabbe. Favors made a big play once again to keep Utah in front. He converted a 3-point play with 1:25 left before halftime to boost the Jazz lead back to four at 39-35.
Favors finished the first half with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting and seven rebounds.
NOTES: Blazers F LaMarcus Aldridge (sprained left index finger) was back after sitting out one game. … Jazz F Gordon Hayward missed his second straight game with a left shoulder sprain and G Rodney Hood sat out with gastrointestinal distress. … Blazers C Chris Kaman missed his third game in a row due to a sprained right shoulder while F Nicolas Batum missed his second straight game with a sore lower back. … Portland ranks ninth in the NBA in scoring at 102.7 points per game while Utah ranks 26th with 94.8 points per contest. The Jazz, however, are allowing only 95.0 points per game — the fewest in the league. … The Blazers connected on 41 3-pointers against the Jazz last season, the highest amount against any Western Conference opponent. … Jazz C Rudy Gobert has pulled down 15.7 rebounds per game in March, ranking second in the NBA in that category for the month.